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13 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Spacewatch: Nasa ends 16-year Spitzer infrared mission

Spitzer became first telescope to directly capture light from planets in orbit around other stars Nasa has ended science operations on its Spitzer infrared space telescope and placed the instrument into safe mode.The mission officially ended at 2230 GMT on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was one of Nasa’s four “great observatories”, alongside the Hubble space telescope, the Chandra X-ray...

Doctor who blew whistle over coronavirus has died, hospital says

Early reports of death of Li Wenliang were retracted, only for doctor to succumb to disease later in dayCoronavirus – latest updatesA whistleblowing Chinese doctor who tried to raise the alarm about the coronavirus outbreak has died, a Communist party-controlled newspaper has confirmed.Li Wenliang, 34, was declared dead at 2.58am local time on Friday morning after “emergency treatment” at a...

Bumblebees' decline points to mass extinction – study

Populations disappearing in areas where temperatures are getting hotter, scientists sayBumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say...

Humanity under threat from perfect storm of crises – study

Climate, extreme weather, biodiversity, food and water crises could lead to ‘systemic collapse’The world is facing a series of interlinked emergencies that are threatening the existence of humans, because the sum of the effects of the crises is much greater than their individual impacts, according to a new global study.Climate breakdown and extreme weather, species loss, water scarcity and a...

Christina Koch returns to Earth after record-breaking space mission

Koch lands in Kazakhstan after 328 days in space, the longest continuous spaceflight by a female astronaut She would miss the friendship of her crewmates, she said, and of course the spectacular views.But after 328 days on the International Space Station – the longest continuous spaceflight ever undertaken by a female astronaut – Christina Koch could not deny last week that she was looking...

Russia's strangest reality show: Siberian quarantine videos shared on Instagram

More than 140 Russians evacuated from Wuhan over coronavirus outbreak are confined to sanatoriumCoronavirus – latest updatesIn a forest in Siberia, more than 140 Russians and others evacuated from Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, have been confined to a sanatorium patrolled by members of Russia’s National Guard instructed to let no one enter or exit.Inside, many have taken to...

Third person in UK confirmed as having coronavirus

Patient diagnosed in Brighton and taken to London did not catch virus in UKCoronavirus – latest updatesThe UK has a third case of coronavirus infection, England’s chief medical officer has confirmed.The patient was diagnosed with the infection in Brighton, the Guardian understands, and transported by the London ambulance service to an infectious diseases unit at a hospital in the capital....

Board-game piece from period of first Viking raid found on Lindisfarne

Small glass ‘crown’ thought to be rare archaeological link to first Norse raidersIt is not large – the shape and size of a chocolate sweet – and might easily have been discarded as a pebble by a less careful hand.But a tiny piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne has been revealed to be a rare archaeological treasure linking the Northumbrian island with the...

Julie Bishop: Coalition should lead world on climate despite 'missteps' on bushfires

Chancellor of Australian National University puts experts at government disposal to provide ‘evidence-based’ solutionsAustralia “needs action on several fronts” following a catastrophic bushfire season, including leading international efforts against climate change and cutting emissions beyond the electricity sector, Julie Bishop has said.Bishop, the incoming chancellor of the Australian...

Can we predict the weather in space?

The ESA is launching a solar mission that could help forecast potentially catastrophic eventsOn the morning of 1 September 1859, the English astronomer Richard Carrington noticed something strange on the surface of the sun: two patches of intensely white light erupting from a cluster of dark sunspots. Five minutes later, they vanished.Later that night, bright aurora lit the Earth’s sky as far...

'Hidden' coronavirus cases could thwart containment efforts, experts warn

Failure to report mild symptoms combined with highly contagious nature of disease raises fears existing figures are ‘tip of the iceberg’Global health experts have warned that “hidden” infections make containment of the coronavirus unlikely and raised fears that the rapidly rising caseload of 25,000 people could be the “tip of the iceberg”.“Hidden” cases – where people with mild...

What is coronavirus and how worried should we be?

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?Find all our coronavirus coverage hereHow to protect yourself from infectionIt is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the...

Coronavirus: mother-baby transmission unproven despite case of newborn

A 30-hour-old baby is the youngest person to be diagnosed with the virus but experts warn against jumping to conclusionsNews that a 30-hour-old newborn baby had become the youngest person to have been diagnosed with coronavirus has prompted speculation that the potentially lethal illness could potentially be passed from a mother to a fetus.But medical experts have warned against drawing...